The face-to-face dialogue among academic administrators of architecture programs in North and South America that began with the first Deans of the Americas conference held in Miami, Florida, 1994, resuming in Panama, 2004 and continuing in Antigua, Guatemala, 2014, provided exceptional opportunities for sharing ideas, and developing short and long-term academic relationships. The Administrators’ Track of the upcoming ACSA International Conference in Santiago de Chile is intended to provide additional opportunities for informed, yet informal discourse centered on international accreditation and on additional topics directly impacting architecture education in our Hemisphere.

The Administrator’s Track will consist of four workshops: A workshop on International accreditation led by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB), and three additional workshop sessions, each approximately 90-minutes duration. All workshops are described below.

In the U.S. a critical part of the process for registering architects is ensuring the quality and outcomes of a professional architectural education; some call it validation or recognition, in the U.S. it is called accreditation. In this session, you will learn how the U.S. accreditation system works, who is involved in it, how standards are set, why it has to be both rigorous and flexible, and what opportunities are open to institutions outside the U.S. Participants will leave with information about pursuing the two processes for evaluation and assessment that are available from the NAAB. This session will be in English.

Moderator: Tamara Redburn, NAAB Director. Ms. Redburn is an architect from Memphis, Tennessee. She has served on a number of NAAB visiting teams and is now a member of the Board of Directors. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016

TRANSITION From Student of Architecture to Novice Practitioner

Formal education at accredited institutions of higher learning does not presume the same objectives and requirements that historical apprenticeship activities once embodied in the “making of an architect.” The university-educated graduate in architecture often faces a sharp learning curve when he or she is immersed in professional practice. While simultaneously addressing the needs and expectations of the academic institution, the recent graduate entering the work force, and the professional design firm, architecture programs in the Americas have a long history of disparate formats and requirements that are intended to address the fundamental challenges of this transition.

In some contexts of Latin America, the relationship between formal education in architecture and professional practice is mediated by a long tradition of practitioners who assume the role of professors, teaching from the experience of their own architectural work. Still today, this logic co-exists with an academic approach, stimulating educational institutions to develop systems and instruments to evaluate and recognize this hybrid training as an important attribute of architectural education. This is the case, for example, of the School of Architecture of the Universidad Católica de Chile, and constitutes one of the main challenges in formal education of architectural discipline.

The following questions will shape discussion in this workshop: Using International case studies as context, how are the challenges of transition best satisfied? What are the major distinctions in differing countries, and what formats seem to provide optimal outcomes?

THE DOCTORAL CREDENTIAL A New Reality? (Why? How? Where?)

Increasingly academic institutions assume that the professoriate will possess the terminal degree in his/her field. At many schools throughout the Americas, this expectation is now mandated for full-time tenured/ tenure track members of architecture faculties. While some may argue that professional licensure should be considered equivalent to the PhD or other doctoral degree, this assertion has not always proven persuasive. For those already teaching, what are the options for gaining an accepted advanced degree? What funding opportunities (e.g., research fellowships, adjunct teaching appointments) or other financial considerations are possible to support new credentialing efforts?

International credential and terminal academic degrees represent a growing concern and desire in South American institutions, especially for those universities that aspire to attain the level in which academics can teach what they research, and whose faculty members wish to be active participants in international academic research and discourse. At the same time, these institutions place high value on the experience of practitioners who have produced outstanding architectural work, and who have the capacity to transfer valuable knowledge to future professionals. This is what occurs in those institutions whose academic degrees enable their graduates to work as architects in the professional field.

The following questions will shape discussion in this workshop: Using International case studies as context, what creative opportunities exist for addressing the tension inherent in the dual aspirations of professional programs in the academy? What are the major distinctions in differing countries, and what formats seem to provide optimal outcomes?

Invited Panelists and Respondents: Mahesh Daas, University of Kansas; Branko Kolarevic, University of Calgary; Ivan Ivelic, Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE Licensure Portability

As architectural practice continues to expand and evolve in a global context, the portability of professional credentials across national borders becomes a matter of increasing consequence – to licensing agencies and governmental regulators; to practitioners and firms; and to academic programs in architecture, with implications for curricular imperatives and professional internships.

In the context of an international conference on architectural education, this session will explore transnational professional practices, current and future, focusing on implications for academic institutions engaged in preparing future practitioners for careers in a global context.